Lapis Philosophorum
by Firefly264
Summary: The Philosopher Stone, and those who seek it. The search, and the craving of power, can only lead to suffering. Some spoilers for Brotherhood/manga, song fic to one of the Brotherhood OSTs. ONESHOT


**Okay, this one might need some explanation.**

**First off, this is one of those weird fics that went from random crap I felt like typing up, not really intending to post it but wanting to just get my thoughts out, to a monster of a song fic that I admit I have come to love.  
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**Second, I wrote this in _one sitting_, with basically no brainstorming behind it. Being as big of a perfectionist as I am with my writing, that's pretty freaking awesome.  
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**The lyrics I used are the Latin-to-English translation of the Brotherhood OST _Lapis Philosophorum _that I found online. I'm not sure how close they are, but they're still amazing. I'd recommend listening to it while reading, and _Sorrowful Stone_ is another good one.  
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**Now, on to the story!**

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The Philosopher's Stone…  
An object of immense power, which allowed an alchemist to bypass the true Law, Equivalent Exchange. The world could be changed in an instant, with a single flourish of chalk or clap of hand, and its red light would illuminate the user in all the knowledge of the universe.

But there is no such thing as a painless lesson. There is no such thing as gaining without sacrifice. Everything comes with a price.

_ Stone of philosophers, ruby red stone, which caused so much sacrifice and misery unknown._

Everyone houses a Gate within them. The Door, the Gateway, the Portal of Truth. Within it is contained all the knowledge of the universe. It is from that Gate that alchemy comes from. And it is from alchemy that we gain the power to _know. _To know that those Gates house our souls, and that those souls give us power.

_Deceptively though, the stone did appeal and made foolish men think its happiness real._

It is only a select few that know the Truth, who have seen the Gate, met its Keeper, and learned all there is to learn. But in return, they lose something. There is no telling what until it is gone, and there is no telling the worth of that which is lost, until it is taken by the Truth.  
But there are also those who pursue that impossible dream, that free knowledge. And perhaps that is what costs the most.

_O wise philosopher you must grieve no more if you wish to revive the mirth of before._

It is only those who try and fail, read and experiment, investigate and learn, who will truly see it. Who will see the Philosopher's Stone.

The Elixir of Life. The Sage's Stone.  
An object of great power, indescribable in its ability and impossible to label in worth. Or it is, until you must pay.

_You must face your past, for you cannot atone for the damage you wrought with the wretched red stone._

The cost of that lesson, of knowing the Truth, is the knowledge itself. Knowing that in order to achieve that highest goal, one must sacrifice the souls of living beings, condense their Gates' energy into a power source unlike anything mankind has ever known.

It has happened twice in history, the ultimate sacrifice of life. Those who were so arrogant as to think that they could take the power of God and become immortal tried to create the Stone, believing that they could cheat death.  
The first time, an entire race was wiped from the earth in a single night, the cries of thousands all screaming out at once, and then ultimately silencing.

_Where is the land? That land from the past, which many before you sought and amassed?_

In disregarding human life, in the sanctity of a person's existence, the souls were trapped within two, and those two became the embodiment of a foolish king's sins. Two Philosopher Stones, forged from the blood of their kin, those who they had once served.  
And in that instance of power, that moment of destruction, one despaired, and one crowed in triumph.

_Take heed of their folly, and don't be deceived by the trap which left many despaired and bereaved._

It was foolish, _Homunculus_, to think that you could equal God. You are not all powerful. To rid yourself of the 'sins', the desires of mankind, you do not become more than human. Those souls within you do not make you God, not even close. If anything your foolish arrogance has lowered you, you who have been blinded by your own dreams of glory, of your desire for the ultimate Power. The Truth which you have seen, the Gate from where you were born, has fooled you, and you have deluded yourself into thinking that you have the right to become God.

_Though for happiness, power and ease they did strive, instead they found death and now none are alive._

You Elrics are fools as well, striving for an answer which will not solve anything. You sought life, to create anew what you had lost, but lost only more, more than you could stand. So instead you seek that which is only wrought and accompanied by death. Foolish humans, to believe that you can return the dead, that you can create a Stone without inflicting pain on those you cherish, to think that you can evade my laws and restore yourself without paying the toll.

_Consider these perished; this warning adhere. Will you continue to seek out this stone you held dear?_

Those who have died were both a warning and a spur. Those who can be killed are your collateral. You can't expect to escape unscathed, can you? You can't expect to be the only ones hurt?

_You who beheld its baneful hue red when the blood of your own arm and own leg was shed?_

Homunculus. You know what it is to have the Power. You know what it is to be God, if only for an instant.  
Edward Elric. You know what it is like to hold those fragments, to hear those souls crying for release, for that final escape.

Both of you are fools, to think that a fragment of a Stone, that a collection of souls, could possibly equal my power. There is only one Keeper, only one Truth. As long as either of you may live, you will only ever be mortal. You may try to play God, and like fools you may seek power, but all you will ever be is human.

_Stone of philosophers, ruby red stone. When will you cease and leave mankind alone?_

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